Camp FIRE Finance
In the world of FIRE and early retirement is that “what” and financial independence is the “how.” Simply stated: no FI, no ER.
Financial independence, or FI for short, is when you’re investments generate enough cash to cover your expenses. That’s the holy grail because it means that money is no longer an object. You’re financially free!
Not Everyone Should Pursue Early Retirement, but EVERYONE should absolutely strive to become financially independent.
When you’re financially independent, you’ve got options. You can go to work or quit. Take a vacation or lie on the couch all day. What you do doesn’t matter because you’re financially free.
The best thing you can buy with your money isn’t more stuff – it’s freedom. When you no longer have to trade your time for a paycheck, then suddenly you can do whatever you want with your time. You’re free! And that’s what financial independence is all about.
Financial independence can seem like a far-fetched concept for many, but it shouldn’t be. The term is used to describe people who do not need to work for their money, it works for them. Keep in mind that financial independence can look different for different people. The journey is not an easy one and it will require education and a plan. You will also need to hit certain financial goals along the way.
Can you go from clueless at 40 to financially independent in less than 10 years? We are. And, we’ll do it as two public educators, not doctors or investment bankers.
We aren’t quite there yet, but here’s how we’ve turned things around and why I’m confident we’ll get there.
If you’ve just started paying attention to your finances in your 30s, 40s, or even 50s it’s not too late. No doubt your situation is different, but you’re aware now and that matters. Ours is just one story – you can write your own!
We started out as two new teachers, more than $100,000 in debt thanks to student loans and consumer debt from our college years. We then bought a house on a zero down mortgage and jumped into our careers. Living the American dream!
They say money doesn’t make you happy, but I can’t fully agree. Who doesn’t want to reach financial freedom? I love money, and I believe it’s normal. We all work to earn. How else can you achieve financial freedom? However, money is not a goal; its an instrument to make your dreams come true, to live a fulfilled life, travel, be able to pay kids education and finally retire.
Money is simply a necessity like food or water, it helps you buy the things you need.
Your financial Break Even Point is the best day of the month, and you probably don’t even know when, or what, it is. That’s a huge mistake. Understanding your Break Even Point can help you reach financial independence sooner.
We believe in the number so much that we just developed a Break Even Point calculator so that you can quickly and easily figure out your number, and then get to work fixing it! So read on, determine your financial break even point and tip the financial scales in your favor.
One of my earliest money lessons came while I was sitting in a K-Mart cafeteria. I was 16 years old and was on a lunch break, eating something I’d just bought from the in-store restaurant. At the time I was making $4.25 per hour, which was minimum wage at that time.
Whatever I’d bought for lunch must have cost about $4.25 because I had thought ‘I just traded an hour of my life for this food.’ I wasn’t upset or bothered. It was just an interesting factoid. But the idea of looking at the cost of an item in terms of time has always stuck with me.
And now I’ve turned that idea into a time currency calculator.